Oh hi! I haven’t written a Wellness Wednesday in FOREVER. So sorry. Sometimes the topics come to me when I’m least expecting them to. I was actually planning on putting this in a recipe post, but decided it was too specific to be bogged down by gorgeous photos of avocados.
Today is all about doing what’s best for you regarding food during the holiday season (or in general). As always, I LOVE hearing from you guys, so feel free to leave a comment after you read the post. xo!
healthy blueberry muffins — coming soon!
Now let me go on a mini rant for a second, only because I read a food blog recently that preached about indulging in heavy foods during the holidays and also brought down my love for baking and cooking with wholesome, clean ingredients. Basically it went on about how we shouldn’t lighten up desserts or make them ‘clean’ or ‘skinny’, and also how we should say yes to most indulgent food during this time of year. While I can appreciate opinions, I don’t appreciate people believing that their way is the only way. Or the best way. Especially when it comes to food. And I say this for a variety of reasons.
Have you ever hear people tell you to just go ahead and indulge because it’s the holidays? From large frappucinos and baskets of french fries to ice cream and extra Christmas cookies; people will tell you to have more and more because they feel it’s justified during the holiday season.
I don’t know about you, but I find that I just can’t say yes to everything this time of year. Maybe you feel this way too? Or maybe you don’t. But you see, my body just doesn’t work in a way that allows me to indulge on a consistent basis, even if it’s for a short amount of time. If I start indulging from November through December, or even accept most of the goodies offered to me from friends and family, I notice a difference in the ways my clothes fit, my confidence, energy and mood. And it’s not only that, it’s the fact that once I start indulging, getting myself off the heavy food train can be personally difficult.
Be happy with who you are
I’m not one of those people who has ever known the true art of moderation when it comes to food. If you know this feeling, then you’ll know what I mean when I say that I only have moderation because I practice balanced eating every single day. Balanced healthy eating is a choice, one that doesn’t come natural to me and probably never will. It took me a long time to learn how to put my fork down when I was satisfied instead of when I was completely stuffed beyond belief.
Food is my weakness and so for that reason (and because I’m incredibly passionate about nutrition), I choose to make healthy choices (or at least try to make healthier choices.) And hey, that’s okay! I have every ounce of love and self-acceptance for myself to know that’s who I am. That’s who I’ll always be.
So anyway, when I read this profound food statement judging us so called clean eaters, it really annoyed me. Mostly because it called out those of us who really love and ENJOY eating nutritious food. It isn’t because we’re on diets or because we hate fat or butter or sugar, it’s simply because this is our way of life. For some of us, it’s our passion. We’re not perfect eaters by any means.
Not only that, but many of us who struggle with food, know that the struggle is REAL. We make food with clean ingredients because we actually love to eat and we love to feel good about what we eat. None of this is about limiting food choices or deprivation (because we love to have cookies too!), it’s about making choices to eat better and in turn, having a healthy balanced lifestyle.
Contrary to some beliefs, good food isn’t just indulgent, rich food; good food can be real, healthy food too! You feel me with the labeling issue here? Some of the best tasting desserts I’ve ever had have been deemed ‘healthy’ and I don’t mind one bit.
Good tasting food can be whatever you want it to be.
Breakfast with Tony
Of course, we know that food can hold so much more than just nutritional value. Sometimes food is good because it reminds us of a loved one or of home during a certain time of year. And sometimes food is good because it can be pleasureful (like ice cream!). And as much as I appreciate the weekly indulgence more than you know, I’m never about bringing someone else down due to their food choices… whatever those may be. I think it’s important to remember that all of us have complexities towards food, and we’re unique because of it.
Of course you’re going to indulge more during the holidays, but don’t feel pressured to go overboard by anyone. Do have flexibility at family gatherings and parties, but above all do what you know is going to make you feel good. For me, that might mean filling my plate with mostly veggies and then enjoying a cookie or two at the end of the evening. Sometimes, however, it means walking away from the kitchen for the night because I had a few too many scoops of pasta and am too stuffed to say yes to my aunt’s delicious looking pie.
Remember, you can still find joy in feasting on other things in your life, besides food. I know I always say this, but it’s true.
So while this rant isn’t about anyone being right or wrong, it’s about accepting others and remembering not to judge — especially during this time of year. I accept that you want to make a cake and eat it (yummm!), and you accept that I want to have chickpea blondies because they make me happy.
Anyway, there’s the mini rant for you. I didn’t really intend for that to happen, but sometimes my mind just spits out all of my feelings in words.
I want to hear your thoughts below!
How do you stay balanced during the holiday season and do what’s best for you?
Do you ever feel judged or pressured because you actually enjoy eating healthy?
Also, if you have ANY requests for Wellness Wednesday topics, please leave them below or feel free to email me at ambitiouskitchen {at} gmail {dot} com.
Have a great rest of the week! xoxo.
“Yes I am trying to eat healthy, no I’m not on a diet” I love that! Over the last couple years, I have added more whole foods to my diet and cut out most processed food. I believe my taste buds have changed as I crave salads and love having one each day and why? Because it makes me feel good. I have also noticed my skin has been the most clear sine I was probably 13 years old. I love trying new desserts that are healthier as well like those chickpea blondies I actually made your recipe last weekend for a potluck and it was a huge hit. Sometimes my co workers judge what I eat commenting how healthy I eat or when I decide to indulge in a cookie they tell me I could easily eat 5 cookies because I am skinny. I try my best to ignore it because really it comes down to me listening to my body.
YES TO ALL OF THIS. I truly do enjoy eating healthily, but I sometimes feel judged or pressured by friends, family, and others because I’m not having an extra serving of dinner or dessert. Especially family, because we’re Italian. I think it also has to do with my recovery from an eating disorder; people might think that I’m still having trouble with food. In reality, I’ve learned to be balanced like you and actually enjoy the wholesome food I’m eating. Just because I don’t eat junk doesn’t mean I still have a disorder, it means I’ve learned what makes me feel good and what doesn’t. Thank you for all of this, Monique! <3
Thank You!!!! I am sooo tired of hearing people giving me grief for not wanting to go crazy because it is the holidays!! I made a choice to live a healthier lifestyle and that included what I choose to eat and not to eat. Why is it that people feel it is acceptable to analyze my plate but would absolutely lose their mind if I were to “return the favor”. I have learned that if I eat well I feel good and if I eat crappy my body responds in kind. I would rather enjoy a good conversation with friends that a heaping slice of whatever.
It sounds like that person is trying to justify unhealthy lifestyle choices with excuses of “it’s the holidays.” But then it would be so easy to make that an ongoing indulgence by saying, “I had a hard day, or this is a special celebration, or…” This person definitely has a right to their personal opinion, but with an open blog there does come some responsibility. I wouldn’t have had a problem if they had made it about their personal choices and not about tearing others, with different food positions, down.
This is the reason I decided to speak up, because they are mocking those who are making a daily personal choice (and at times very hard struggle) to bring wellness into their lives. I don’t want someone talking down to me or preaching to me about my lifestyle, and how I should make it an unhealthier or healthier one. I really like how you said it- “I’m never about bringing someone else down due to their food choices… whatever those may be. I think it’s important to remember that all of us have complexities towards food, and we’re unique because of it.”
As to holiday eating- I’ve noticed that I haven’t been craving heavy, rich, or over-the-top sweet foods since I’ve been eating much healthier the last couple of years. It’s not that I’ve been depriving myself either, because there are so many ways to make luscious great tasting food without sacrificing the health benefits. Once your taste buds get away from heavily processed foods, you realize how complex and deeper flavors are in their natural or slightly enhanced state.
Beautifully written! I get so frustrated at work because we have employee lunches catered often, and it’s often really heavy food–things like pizza or enchiladas & fajitas or Chinese takeout. I always request that they order some vegetables or salads or something a little bit lighter, and the lady who orders always makes me feel weird and says things like, “It’s not going to kill you not to eat vegetables for one meal.” It’s not that I think I’m going to die without having healthy stuff at one meal (because I KNOW I’m not and trust me, there are plenty of meals I eat that don’t have a ton of veggies, and plenty of times I eat too much ice cream or cheesecake or something). It’s that I hate feeling sluggish and foggy at work and I know if I eat three pieces of pizza I’m going to feel like crap for the rest of the workday, and then I’m not going to want to work out when I get home, and I might not even feel like cooking later. There are times when it’s worth it to me to truly indulge and times when it’s just not worth it to me. The same thing happens with celebrating coworkers’ birthdays and work-anniversaries. There is always a giant cake and I never partake for the same reasons–usually the cake doesn’t look that good to me and so it’s not worth it to me to indulge and feel crappy for the rest of the day. Sometimes someone will select a cake that I’ll actually really want to try, and I might have a smallish slice so that I can indulge a little without feeling terrible later (since the cake is usually eaten at like 3pm, and again, I don’t want to feel crappy for the rest of the day because I ate a massive slice of cake). People will freak out, like, “LOOK! SHE’S EATING CAKE!” and they’ll be like, “Oh are you stressed today or something?” as if like….I need an excuse to be able to let loose and eat the cake. It just feels ridiculous that I have to explain, no, I’m not eating this because I’m stressed, I’m eating it because today a piece of strawberry shortcake just sounded really, really delicious. I just hate that clean eaters get so much flak for their eating, as if we’re the ones unbalanced when we’re usually the ones WITH balance.
Thank you for posting! I have made several of your sweet “healthy” recipe’s for the holidays. No one even knows and they all taste great!
Thank you!! I have been a long time follower of AK and I can relate to so much of what you write. I think of the word “diet” as a nasty 4 letter word! Yes, I may eat more cookies for dessert during the holidays but that doesn’t change my need to make a kale, kefir and berry smoothie that’s going to give me a few servings of greens & some protein right after a run. I still need to plan healthy meals, snacks and make time for exercise or no one will want to spend any time with me during the holidays!
Thanks for all the inspiration!
Hear, hear!
A couple weeks ago you linked to a healthy ginger bread recipe. Now I get my tradition and feel good about it. They were awesome (third batch coming up this weekend) and I can skip those corn syrup filled cookies of Christmas past. And they actually taste better too!
Thanks for the inspiration.
What a great post! Thank you!! As much as more people are looking toward making healthier food choices, listening to their bodies, practicing mindfulness, and avoiding too much sugar and preservatives, I think we’re still in the minority. I also believe a lot of the shaming that happens is more about the shame the other person feels about themselves and their own habits, and they’re confronted with their own shame when they see what they know are healthy choices being made. Like the family member or co worker who starts talking down about our food choices or working out, etc may actually feel threatened or even jealous of those healthy choices, similar to the bully in middle school really being jealous of the kid they’re putting down. I try to keep that in mind when confronted with this and it helps.
Amen! I am constantly judged and told that I’m “no fun” because I prefer to eat mostly meat free, and I avoid sugar. Believe it or not I enjoy the food that I eat and think it tastes great!
Preach! I’m trying to eat mostly vegan (started a couple of months ago) and find myself continually getting slack from everyone around me for not going “all in” during the holidays! Thank you for understanding and posting wonderful delicious vegan recipes so that I can indulge in my own, healthy and vegan way!
Just wanted to drop you a line to say I love reading your emails.. so much positivity and love. I really appreciate what you do. And I love your lipstick 😉
I love this. Just this morning I was contemplating how everyone around me (include people who love me & really do mean well!) encourage me to “treat my self” as often as I want around the holidays. But I, like you described, have issues with moderation. When I give in to the really crappy stuff, I end up eating far too much of it. It causes bloating, energy loss, breakouts, etc. It happened really bad around Halloween this year due to Halloween parties with friends/work. For me, it’s helpful to abstain from that stuff as much as I can so when I give in occasionally, I’m less guilty/gross feeling when my “one cookie” turns into “three”. And it will, because I know myself. I like healthifying recipes to avoid that feeling too! What is right for one person isn’t right for all. I prefer not to “treat myself” daily, and I feel better about it!!
Love the post! Also, gorgeous photo of you! What’s the lip color? 🙂
I could reiterate what everyone else is saying, because I wholeheartedly agree, but instead of repeating them I just wanted to point out that you look gorgeous in that wintery pic!
Love your lip color and your post!
I LOVE THIS! Balance is key, and I feel the same way when I indulge too often. I just don’t feel like myself, and I really love the so called ‘healthy’ treats 🙂
Thank you for this post! I am vegan, and my family thinks this is some form of punishment; they do not understand that this is the way I choose to eat (and love it!). They’re always saying, “Oh, you can take a break and have this entire plate of cookie and huge bowl of pasta–it’s Christmas!”. They don’t get that I have my healthy treats that I love to indulge in and I don’t feel guilty about eating them (for health and ethical reasons); they think I should be eating all the unhealthy stuff at the table and around the house because, “that’s what we eat at Christmas.” And I’m with you–I can eat in moderation simply because I practice that every single day. If I don’t, I don’t feel well–physically or mentally.
Hi, Monique. Thanks for the post. I think the reason for the blog post you read (and the reason people get turned off from the “clean” eating movement) is because so much focus on “clean” eating and “skinny”-ing up recipes is really encouraging and pushing the progression of orthorexia and girls’ (and guys’) skewed perception of health, fitness, and body image. By labeling certain foods “clean” and others “dirty” it attempts to categorize foods into good and bad things, an impossible feat since food is simply food and labeling it with adjectives used to describe human actions just doesn’t make sense. If we call a food dirty and then we eat it, we are bound to feel bad about ourselves or guilty. This is further seen in calling meals/ days “cheat” days, signifying that everything we eat and do that day is incorrect and wrong. I think the reason that people are getting fed up with this movement is that it has moved far beyond a “health” one and more into an obsession. Health is SO much more complicated than the foods we eat and eating “clean” is not “healthier” than eating “dirty.” Health is determined by a visit to our physician, a check in on our BP/ HR/ triglyceride level/ sleep status/ emotional well being/ activity level. For most people, the idea of “clean” eating is all encompassing, and quickly turns into an obsession and a disorder, especially when there are so many social media influences labeling certain foods as bad/ certain meals as “skinny”/ certain foods “indulgences.”
ON POINT!!! Just because I happen to try a small portion of something homemade and delicious looking, doesn’t mean I’m going to want that piece of Costco cake tomorrow! I try to make very deliberate choices about what I will indulge in and they are MY choices, not to be influenced by others.
I like to call it “riding my own bike”.
Yes, yes, yes! Love this post. I absolutely love eating great food and that also means indulging from time to time, but I know that I feel my best when I try to eat a healthy, balance diet. That doesn’t change just because it is the holiday season. I enjoy baking during this time of year and love to eat seasonal treats. Because of this, I try to find recipes that use wholesome ingredients and can be something that I feel good about eating. I find that this isn’t depriving in the slightest. I can bake a loaf of gingerbread using “clean” ingredients and enjoy the heck out of it!
Hi Molly, while factors like sleep/emotional wellbeing/activity level are incredibly important to the big picture of one’s health, “clean” eating is going to contribute to a better outcome at the doctor’s office (BP, HR, triglyceride level, etc.), if that’s how you are measuring your health. Consuming processed, chemical-laden foods is certainly not as healthy as eating whole foods. I understand the point you are making about it becoming an obsession – but that is the extreme and not the norm.
Hi Molly, I would definitely contend that eating “clean” in indeed “healthier” than eating “dirty” on a long-term basis, and doing so would result in improved statistics at the physicians office, if that is your measuring stick. Another valid measuring stick is the overall feeling of health and wellness that most people experience as a result of eating wholesome, real foods, as described by most of the posts today.
Also, I don’t think that clean eating is a new movement per se. It is simply trying to take eating back to basics. The food industry has gotten so out of control with the “food” that is sold (and what is marketed as healthy) that it has people immensely confused. Clean eating is nothing more than eating whole, healthy nutritious foods. It isn’t to condemn others or promote eating disorders.
Thanks for your responses! I see your points and appreciate them. Definitely didn’t mean to start anything, and I do love your recipes, Monique. Hope you all have wonderful holidays!
You didn’t start anything – just sharing. Happy Holidays!
Ahhhhhh yes yes yes yes and yes! I just returned from a family wedding where I was mocked, MOCKED for trying to stick to eating well. It drives me nuts… surely what I choose to eat is no one else business?! Another great Wellness Wednesday post, and I want to eat that avo toast 🙂
I love the healthy recipes you make! (Let’s be honest – I love the cookies too.) Your recipes are my go to, the ones most often on rotation in my kitchen, and the healthified versions of classics that I feed my carnivore boyfriend.
Thanks for helping so many of us eat well!
I feel like dropping the terms of healthy eating and clean eating would be helpful to all. I hate labeling anything as “junk food” too. Why? Because then it seems forbidden. I’m not going to lie…..as a fitness professional who cares a lot about what goes into my body….I still eat Cheetos from time to time, drink a beer here and there, buy non-organic when my budget needs it, and uses Mt. Dew to treat the worst of my migraines. I just try to be mindful of what I’m putting in by thinking about what I really want and why. I listen to my body and know when to stop. I don’t go out of my way to substitute certain ingredients when they aren’t readily available, but that doesn’t mean that others can’t. You’re right….do what is best for your body and don’t preach anything like it’s gospel unless that person is under your care and you’re educated and certified to do so.
Enjoy your holiday food Monique….however you like to eat it! Happy Holidays!
This is a wonderful post! I’m in the process of learning that my body loves when I eat healthier, but I, too, am not trained to eat healthy. It’s so hard for me. But I practice balance and eating my favorite foods in moderation every single day, like you. It’s a nice reminder that we’re not alone and we’re all trying to better ourselves. I absolutely love how you phrased this and hope you enjoy your holiday season (& especially the food!) in whatever way you see fit. The holiday season means something different to each of us, and we should enjoy it however/whichever way we’d like!
Wishing you and your fam the best!
Beautifully worded and I love that you came out and addressed this! As a 23-year-old Illini veterinary student and runner that has struggled with disordered eating for most of my adult life, I absolutely look up to you in every way. I’ve always LOVED baking and learning how to bake for myself and loved ones with wholesome ingredients brings me even greater joy! Some of us actually enjoy practicing a balanced diet and I absolutely loathe it when people judge me for it or think I’m on a diet! As a runner and veterinary student it’s incredibly important to me that my food is FUEL and not a reward- but I admit sometimes I run a few extra miles for those Christmas goodies (:
Happy holidays!!!
You hit the nail on the head, I do feel extremely frustrated as you do during this time. Not only does my family expect me to eat so much more than I can handle but they call me skinny and make me feel as if I’m rude because I don’t eat certain things. Because I make a simple choice to stay away from certain things so I don’t bloat and feel groggy all day. Even worse if I do decide to indulge on just a cookie, I get all of their shocked stares and comments like “ohhhhh you’re eating a cookie wow I didn’t think you would!”
I totally feel you though. This is a life style not just a restricting diet, I eat what makes me feel good and sometimes not although it truly is hard for me to over indulge I do still push the limits. Thanks for the inspiration. You are beautiful by the way!!
ABSOLTELY, ABSOLUTELY AGREE! It’s hard being judged for being healthy. It also makes absolutely no sense to be judged for being healthy. I love being healthy and it’s a lifestyle change I made 7 months ago, and I can’t imagine going back to the way I was. I don’t crave the unhealthy stuff because I eat so balanced. Your post definitely resonates with me!
My plan for the holidays is to volunteer to help with things in the kitchen before the holidays. Make a couple dinners or something like that. I also plan to keep my workout schedule while on vacation as well as eating as I normally do and not allowing anyone to get in my head. I’m a pretty avid baker though so I do plan on eating a couple cookies I make on Christmas! But, I know how I feel and what makes me happy, and I plan to stick to it!
With that said, I love the holidays and hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
P.S. I made your peanut butter granola bars and they are to die for! I love the crunchiness of the quinoa. I’ve been meaning to Instagram them but I eat them too fast! I plan on making another batch so I’ll be sure to get a picture in then. My boyfriend LOVES them too!
I didn’t begin to understand what it meant to eat healthfully and in moderation until college (20 years ago!). My childhood was filled with overindulgences, sweets, fast food and as a result I was chubby, out of shape and unhappy. I began to figure things out once I left my parents house and in college was in more control of the foods I made available to myself. I lost a lot of weight, my confidence soared AND I got unwelcome comments all of the time about my diet and healthy exercise habits. I had finally gotten myself to a happy place and now I had to deal with negative reactions. I’ve learned that when people make comments like that to you it is more about themselves than about you. They are insecure or feeling badly about their own choices and therefore wish to make themselves feel better by making you feel badly about YOUR choices. That is ALWAYS the case. So never let these comments shake you and never let them hurt. Just understand that the person delivering the words is going through a personal struggle themselves.
I loved your post–it really resonated with me. I still struggle all of the time. I just made some “healthy” oatmeal cookies and I ate too many tonight. I adore your recipes and blog! Thank you, thank you and Merry Christmas!
Love this post, Monique! Sooo many people I am miserably deprived and always “dieting” but I truly just enjoy eating healthy and the way it makes me feel. If I can make a dessert or dish that tastes just as good (or better!) as the super-indulgent original recipe with extra nutrition benefits, why wouldn’t I? I mean, it’s still indulgent because it probably still has lots of fat and sugar (even if it’s natural), but I won’t feel totally weighed down after, and to me that’s worth it! I also struggle with balanced eating, and if I get too far into mindlessly eating indulgent food, it’s very hard to rip myself away. Thanks for your insight!
Thank you for this! I know this is nowhere near the point of your great post, but I have to ask. What lipstick are you wearing in that photo? It’s so beautiful! But again, great and encouraging post overall aside from your lipstick 🙂 🙂
Well I AM on a diet while eating healthy because I frankly want to drop some extra weight that doesn’t make me look good. Eating healthy alone doesn’t get me there when I have trouble stopping snacking(although they are healthy) and controlling portion size.
And I mostly agree with you about pro-indulge people. If somebody can indulge during holidays and still stay fit, that’s great and I wish I had the person’s metabolism rate. But like you, Monique, whenever I indulge, my body just shows. I lift weights at least 3-4 times a weak for a good duration but that never stops me from gaining weight when I indulge.
It’s so funny that the “treat yo self” movement- if we can even call it that- just gets people to indulge all the time. To me, treating myself has to do with mindful, often very healthy, choices that might be more expensive or out of my usual food choices. It’s not ice cream and cake every day. It’s just so weird to me that people need an excuse to eat. Just eat what you want, and respect the fact that we all want different things.
Finally got a chance to read this and I love it. People are far too concerned about what other people are doing. It’s kind of sad and very exhausting. Not just food either — parenting, social media (*ahem*), etc — why waste time worrying about what someone else is eating/drinking/instagraming? Kinda takes the fun out of the holidays. Anyways, love this, love you, and love beans in my desserts. 😉
Couldn’t agree more! You obviously hit a note that resonates with a lot of us out there and I thank you for expressing it so well. I have a feeling I will be re-reading this when I need some inspiration. It can be hard to fight the tidal wave of peer pressure that insists you eat crap to experience the holidays in full measure. People who don’t struggle with food issues need education about how difficult total indulgence can be. Your post did exactly that. Well done you 🙂
I too eat healthy to keep my body running well as opposed to being on a ‘diet.’ I think some people don’t understand it’s not a simple calories-in, calories-out, equation. Having too much sugar and junk and no veggies doesn’t just mean you’ll gain weight, it means your body will literally not be able to perform necessary functions which is why a lot of people start feeling sick after they binge. That being said, I’m all about everything in moderation!! Sharing food = connecting and I think that blogger was just trying to help people who may not think about eating healthy like many of us do (as a way of life, not a temporary ‘diet’) to take a step back and realize that you don’t have to deprive yourself. Which obviously means different things for different people!
I really enjoyed this blog and can relate. I get judged by close friends for choosing the healthier options while out at a restaurant or even while in my own kitchen. I have been confronted about not eating enough or asked about an eating disorder. Gladly, this outside judgement has improved for the most part over the past year. I think I can speak for myself and other healthy eaters that it is hard on us when it comes to food. Not because we have an eating disorder but mostly because we get looks, curiousity, and sometimes approached as if our food choices are wrong. Like you said, healthy eating is a choice and most healthy eaters truly love nutritious foods. Eating a banana, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and yogurt is yummy and very filling to me! Not everyone is the same though. It’s a choice and a personal desire. It’s a lifestyle. A choice to be a healthy you and knowing what makes you feel good on the inside and what shines on the outside. Thanks for posting!
Love this. The struggle is real for me. I realized yesterday my work environment is toxic in regards to food judgement. Yesterday I tasted the desserts at the potluck, not feeling guilty at all. They were specialties made by some great cooks that are only on the potluck table once a year. Instantly got comments about how much dessert I ate. I’m the only one who EVER eats a salad for lunch, and then I get judged for enjoying a special treat. And even though I approached it healthily, I immediately felt almost ashamed. I never comment on others food choices. But lately there is always someone giving their two cents about what is on someone else’s plate. It’s such a very personal issue; yet no one I work with seems to realize it.
Thank you so so so much for this post! I can relate to it so well! I loved your honesty! I hope you have a lovely holiday season!
I think we all just need to embrace that it’s nobody’s damn business what anyone decides to put in their own bodies! We all have our reasons, our opinions about what “healthy” and “nourishing” mean. For me, for a long time, that meant only eating “clean” foods. Now, it means having the ability to allow myself to wake up each day and decide what sounds good to me to eat. THAT is amazing to me–that I am living my life in a way that doesn’t even allow me to categorize/judge/define my “way of eating”. It just is what it is! How incredible to be able to live in our culture, not allowing your food to define you! (Yes, I am tooting my own horn! This is a hard-earned accomplishment.)
With that said, I can see where the person who wrote the other article is coming from. We are so often told that “indulgent” foods are bad, and other foods are good/pure/clean/better/etc. We are made to feel guilty for enjoying tradition, for participating in the calorie-irrelevant spiritual/social aspects of eating, for eating past fullness BECAUSE our Aunt’s pie looks so damn good, for embracing an extra couple of pounds when the season is upon us. For a long time, I believed that those things made me a bad person. Now, I am grateful to know that thought process is absolute bullshit (!!!).
I haven’t read all of the comments so I’m not sure if anyone else said this, but sometimes I feel like people are giving me a hard time for my healthy habits because they either feel nervous that I’m going to judge their choices (even though I’m the last person to judge someone about food since I know how it feels to be judged) or they wish they were a little healthier so they come down on me to make themselves feel better. It’s hard not to listen to the comments and take them to heart, but I’ve gotten better at learning how to diffuse the situation and I think that’s just something you have to learn as you go.
I agree with every single word! It should be tattooed onto our foreheads so people get it. I think people try to encourage you to indulge so they don’t feel guilty. Enabling, so to speak! My gut has changed so much since starting to eat clean and in order to try prevent my pre-diabetes becoming Type 2 diabetes. If I eat “out of bounds” for just a day, my gut gives my grief for 3 or 4 days. It’s simply just not worth feeling lousy for that long just to indulge. It truly is about doing what’s right for ourselves instead of doing what makes others feel justified in their choices.
I love this! It’s very relatable. I’ve found that I’ve been indulging a bit too much and in turn, I feel down on myself, when I am more on top of my diet I feel better in general! So way to be! I appreciate this post a bunch. Also, I’m gonna check out that chickpea blondie recipe! XOXOXO